california roll shrimp stacks;

If sushi is intimidating to you like it is to me, then try out this easy alternative! Layers of shrimp, avocado, cucumber, and rice, topped with a savory sriracha mayo makes for an easy at-home sushi substitute!

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If you’re like me, homemade sushi is intimidating. Not because I think the steps are ultimately hard in of themselves, but because it seems like you need so many special ingredients and tools. For me, namely the bamboo mat and the nori (seaweed). Those are two things I don’t typically have on hand, and lucky for me, this recipe by Gina at Skinny Taste needs neither!

Let’s start with the rice. I’m a huge fan of sticky rice. There’s absolutely no comparison to the traditional Japanese stuff, and I’m convinced it’s because of the water in Japan. But if you’re looking to approximate a stickier rice with brown rice, well I’m here to tell you the secret that my mom recently discovered–soak your rice! You really only need to soak it an hour or so before cooking, though you can leave it overnight. And then it’s 2c. water to every 1c. brown rice. Let me tell you it made the difference! It made a perfect consistency for these sushi stacks.

On to the next layer–shrimp! Sometimes I forget just how delicious simple ingredients can be. It doesn’t have to be complicated. I literally just sautéed up the shrimp in some olive oil and let the natural caramelization impart flavor.

And the last “two” layers I’ll combine because I ended up mixing them together: cubed cucumber and cubed avocado. Mmmm, tasty. I suggest having everything cooked/chopped prior to creating your stacks because you’ll want to serve everything as fresh as possible and it’s easiest to assemble if you’re not switching between tasks or ingredients.

One of the things I love about this recipe is that while it’s a bit of a simplistic play on sushi, it’s still packed with flavor AND it seems to me true to the Japanese aesthetic. The Japanese take great pride in the preparation of their food, just google bento box and to see what I’m talking about. And while this isn’t as laborious as say, a shiba inu onigiri, it still looks impressive and reminiscent of sushi.